Obligatory GACKT post
Because I have to write this out, it just keeps bubbling in me otherwise. Thrown behind a cut so that if you don't wish to see/read, you don't have to. A life update is coming, there's just a lot to update about lol
Ok first off, I realize a lot of girls were offended by the tweet in question. I'm not going to fault anyone for that. We all have different perceptions and we all see things differently. When I read the tweet, I didn't see anything offensive in it. I see now how others could find it offensive, I've spoken to a couple people about the way in which it was written which again makes a huge difference. We don't all speak/read Japanese in this fandom, and the translation I read didn't give any indication that there was something specific about the way he wrote the tweet. A few times previous he made references to kissing instead of smoking, and beneath the perviness and such he's struck me as a bit of a romantic. So when I read the translation, what came to mind was kissing. Still though, knowing him I think he wrote it that way because he knew it would get a reaction, and not so much that he actually expects women to be like that. That seems stupid, even for him. Not to mention that when he gets annoyed by a question he's been asked too many times, he gives a nutty answer. Sometimes I think fans take him more literally than even he intended to be, he seems to have all these nuances because he seems to like to keep us on his toes. And he forgets that we're not in his head and we're not seeing his thought process. He's always been either very general or a shit-disturber, and much of what he says ends up requiring explanations. I think it's the downside to him being on twitter because it's impossible for him to properly explain. There's just no room or time. So I feel strongly that fans tend to forget this about him, and I feel that he's sometimes taken out of context. Which is partly his fault, it's not always easy to tell when he's just saying something for the shock factor. Watch any of the older interviews and he did it a lot. And even though smiling didn't come easy to him back then, you could see the amusement in his eyes about the reaction he just got. He's a little shit, and he knows it. It's who he is. Complicated is his middle name.
But as to the whole sexist thing, I'm not as eager to call him sexist. Because us fans can be just as sexist. So if we're not going to criticize ourselves, then we have no business criticizing him. Intention though is incredibly important to me. When I see fans joking and perving, and when I do it myself, there's no intention to be sexist. When fans tweet him perverted things, I don't think they're intending to be sexist. So when he replies, is it his intention to be sexist? I doubt it. But that's where things get touchy and I feel there's no real answer or solution. He's not intending to offend, but people get offended. Those people shouldn't just "get over it and stop being offended", but at the same time why should he censor himself especially if at heart he's just playing it up and not intentionally be an asshole? I don't want a censored!GACKT, because then he stops being authentic. He's not always right, but at least he's real. It may not always be pretty but it's him being true to himself. If he starts censoring himself and watching what he says, he's going to be just like every other artist out there. When you think about it, we asked for this. If one is going to be upset at GACKT for answering those pervy tweets (and honestly, I don't have a problem with them but I am kind of getting tired of them) you have to get upset at fandom for starting it. Because we did start this. And one of the major reasons why I don't have such a problem with it is because he clearly doesn't. If this were a case where he had expressed that he didn't like all the perversion and didn't want to receive it, and he was getting it anyway, then I would feel differently. I think there has to be a balance; those who don't like or get offended by the perving shouldn't be jumped on for feeling that way, but at the same time those who like to perv shouldn't feel like they have to stop or that he should stop.
Which brings me to another point. The he's-holier-than-thou attitude, this idea that he's better or held to different rules and crap. He is no better and no worse than anyone else just because he's in the public spotlight. I hate, and I use hate for a reason, that fans put him on that pedestal for better or worse. It is not his fault that some of his fans are impressionable, it's not his fault that some fans can't use their brains and it's not his fault that some fans worship the ground he walks on. I feel like, we are the ones that put them into this spotlight and impose on them a set of rules and standards that they have to follow and we criticize them when they don't live up. I don't agree that he's better than us, I don't agree that his being famous means he has more responsibility than us and I don't agree that he somehow has this level of influence that us "common folk" couldn't achieve. He didn't get into his position without an ass-load of hard work. That doesn't make him better, just braver. He very clearly didn't want to go into his career as a cookie-cutter appeal-to-as-many-as-possible singer. He wanted to do it his way, and it's working for him. Changing anything would make hiim not him. Yes he's going to do things we may not like. Yes he's going to screw up. But that's what makes him him and more importantly authentic. Those fans who are impressionable or can't think for themselves, that's their problem to work on. Not his. He's choosing to lead by his own example and hopes he can inspire people to trailblaze their own paths, and that's all.
On other notes, the new PV is love. Crying and smiling :D *hits repeat*
Ok first off, I realize a lot of girls were offended by the tweet in question. I'm not going to fault anyone for that. We all have different perceptions and we all see things differently. When I read the tweet, I didn't see anything offensive in it. I see now how others could find it offensive, I've spoken to a couple people about the way in which it was written which again makes a huge difference. We don't all speak/read Japanese in this fandom, and the translation I read didn't give any indication that there was something specific about the way he wrote the tweet. A few times previous he made references to kissing instead of smoking, and beneath the perviness and such he's struck me as a bit of a romantic. So when I read the translation, what came to mind was kissing. Still though, knowing him I think he wrote it that way because he knew it would get a reaction, and not so much that he actually expects women to be like that. That seems stupid, even for him. Not to mention that when he gets annoyed by a question he's been asked too many times, he gives a nutty answer. Sometimes I think fans take him more literally than even he intended to be, he seems to have all these nuances because he seems to like to keep us on his toes. And he forgets that we're not in his head and we're not seeing his thought process. He's always been either very general or a shit-disturber, and much of what he says ends up requiring explanations. I think it's the downside to him being on twitter because it's impossible for him to properly explain. There's just no room or time. So I feel strongly that fans tend to forget this about him, and I feel that he's sometimes taken out of context. Which is partly his fault, it's not always easy to tell when he's just saying something for the shock factor. Watch any of the older interviews and he did it a lot. And even though smiling didn't come easy to him back then, you could see the amusement in his eyes about the reaction he just got. He's a little shit, and he knows it. It's who he is. Complicated is his middle name.
But as to the whole sexist thing, I'm not as eager to call him sexist. Because us fans can be just as sexist. So if we're not going to criticize ourselves, then we have no business criticizing him. Intention though is incredibly important to me. When I see fans joking and perving, and when I do it myself, there's no intention to be sexist. When fans tweet him perverted things, I don't think they're intending to be sexist. So when he replies, is it his intention to be sexist? I doubt it. But that's where things get touchy and I feel there's no real answer or solution. He's not intending to offend, but people get offended. Those people shouldn't just "get over it and stop being offended", but at the same time why should he censor himself especially if at heart he's just playing it up and not intentionally be an asshole? I don't want a censored!GACKT, because then he stops being authentic. He's not always right, but at least he's real. It may not always be pretty but it's him being true to himself. If he starts censoring himself and watching what he says, he's going to be just like every other artist out there. When you think about it, we asked for this. If one is going to be upset at GACKT for answering those pervy tweets (and honestly, I don't have a problem with them but I am kind of getting tired of them) you have to get upset at fandom for starting it. Because we did start this. And one of the major reasons why I don't have such a problem with it is because he clearly doesn't. If this were a case where he had expressed that he didn't like all the perversion and didn't want to receive it, and he was getting it anyway, then I would feel differently. I think there has to be a balance; those who don't like or get offended by the perving shouldn't be jumped on for feeling that way, but at the same time those who like to perv shouldn't feel like they have to stop or that he should stop.
Which brings me to another point. The he's-holier-than-thou attitude, this idea that he's better or held to different rules and crap. He is no better and no worse than anyone else just because he's in the public spotlight. I hate, and I use hate for a reason, that fans put him on that pedestal for better or worse. It is not his fault that some of his fans are impressionable, it's not his fault that some fans can't use their brains and it's not his fault that some fans worship the ground he walks on. I feel like, we are the ones that put them into this spotlight and impose on them a set of rules and standards that they have to follow and we criticize them when they don't live up. I don't agree that he's better than us, I don't agree that his being famous means he has more responsibility than us and I don't agree that he somehow has this level of influence that us "common folk" couldn't achieve. He didn't get into his position without an ass-load of hard work. That doesn't make him better, just braver. He very clearly didn't want to go into his career as a cookie-cutter appeal-to-as-many-as-possible singer. He wanted to do it his way, and it's working for him. Changing anything would make hiim not him. Yes he's going to do things we may not like. Yes he's going to screw up. But that's what makes him him and more importantly authentic. Those fans who are impressionable or can't think for themselves, that's their problem to work on. Not his. He's choosing to lead by his own example and hopes he can inspire people to trailblaze their own paths, and that's all.
On other notes, the new PV is love. Crying and smiling :D *hits repeat*